Should Pennsylvania legalize pot?
There ARE clear public health benefits. But balancing the pros and the cons can get hazy.
Should Pennsylvania legalize pot?
Rallying at Independence Mall in December, many chose to violate the law. Should the law be changed? (Hillary Petrozziello / Philly.com)
By Jonathan Purtle
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania State Sen. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery-Delaware) announced plans to introduce a bill that would legalize marijuana — not just for medical purposes, as New Jersey recently did, but also for recreational use. The substance would be regulated by the state in a way similar to alcohol and tobacco. As Leach describes on his website, the bill is founded on the idea that marijuana is no more harmful, and less addictive (this is debatable), than both these substances and that the financial costs of keeping marijuana illegal are enormous. Citing data from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Leach points out that 24,685 marijuana arrests were made in Pennsylvania in 2006 — translating into $325 million in criminal justice costs.
Leach’s proposal follows referendums in Colorado and Washington that recently gave those states the green light for recreational marijuana use. And while the Pennsylvania bill will likely go up in smoke — Gov. Corbett has vowed to veto the bill if it reaches his desk — it seems high time to explore the potential pros and cons of legalizing marijuana from a public health perspective.
First the cons.
Let’s assume that marijuana is 100 percent bad for the mind and body and that legalization would lead to increased consumption. While the notion that marijuana is all harm and no good is debatable — advocates of medical marijuana tout its therapeutic benefits — evidence of its adverse health impacts is strong. A White House document entitled “The Public Health Consequences of Marijuana Legalization” synthesizes some of this research. Outcomes include respiratory problems (smoke is never good for lungs) and cognitive impairment.
The science says that the less marijuana a population consumes the better. But would legalization actually result in more people toking up more often? The answer is hazy. Economists at RAND, the non-partisan think tank, crunched the numbers and concluded that marijuana consumption would probably increase with legalization, but they had little idea how large the increase would be.
Now the pros.
The most clear-cut public health benefits of marijuana legalization would likely result from reductions in incarceration. While there are many ways in which incarceration negatively impacts public health — by disrupting monogamous sexual partnerships, for example, which increases the number of sexual partners that people have, and thus the spread of sexual transmitted diseases — let’s just focus on the financial costs of putting people behind bars for weed. As Senator Leach notes, Pennsylvania taxpayers spend around $325 million annually on marijuana-related arrests. While not all of this goes to incarceration, legalization would free up a lot of public money that could be invested in health.
As described in a previous post, research has documented a link between increases in public health spending and improvements in population health. A large, multisite study found that a 10 percent increase in local public health department spending was associated with a 6.9 percent decrease in infant mortality, a 3.2 percent decrease in deaths from cardiovascular disease, a 1.4 percent decrease in deaths from diabetes, and a 1.1 decrease in deaths from cancer. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s budget would double if the state took $200 million of marijuana-related criminal justice savings and invested it in the city’s health. This would translate into a substantial number of lives saved. Exactly how many? We can only speculate.
Data from the 2010-2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicate that an estimated 10.82 percent of Pennsylvanians over the age of 12 used marijuana in the past month — as did nearly one-third (31.16 percent) of residents between the ages of 18-25. The estimates are similar for New Jersey — 10.73 percent and 31.79 percent, respectively. While uncertainty abounds regarding the public health costs and benefits of legalizing marijuana, one thing is for sure — people are using it, legal or not.
Read more about The Public's Health.
Comments (70)
Finally a legislator who has the right idea. There is a ton of money to be made by the state in regulating this industry and a whole lot to be saved in no longer treating users as criminals. Legalization will also dry up the "dealers" as people find they can enjoy themselves without resorting to criminal behavior. Bravo Mr. Leach!— longbikez- While I hardly agree with anything Comrad Leach says (he has the fiscal aptitude of the former USSR), he is correct here. Legalizing POT would go a long way for:
1) Reducing prison populations and court cases;
2) Possibly increasing revenues for mental health treatment;
3) Create much needed jobs for millions;
4) Reduce the stigmatism that "pot" is unhealthy.
Of course the Criminal Justice System and the central bankers that make billions off of The US Industrial Prison Complex" would lose all their profits (1) and budgets for District Attorneys and Police Depts would be cut due to lack of need.
It was only when Fiorello LaGuardia, a RINO no less, decided to cowtow to FDR's "progressive" efforts outlawed marijuana despite the fact his own reports proved MJ was not as bad as they initially projected(2).
(1) - http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/12/the-prison-industrial-complex/304669/
(2) - http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/lag/conc1.htm
— Professor1982 - In 2013, if you believe that pot is a dangerous and harmful street drug, then you're a flat out moron that has not experienced enough of life to make decisions that affect others lives.— DixonBunz
- This would make way too much sense to get passed.....— main liner
- "Citing data from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Leach points out that 24,685 marijuana arrests were made in Pennsylvania in 2006 — translating into $325 million in criminal justice costs."
So - now the legislation and laws that have incarcerated so many otherwise law abiding citizens might be changed. And WHY? Not because it may be the right thing to do and the government really doesn't have to protect us from ourselves.... but because of the almighty dollar! That is the real bottom line here. Shame on them for taking so long! And shame on Philly Dot Com for the picture for the picture it used in the article! Are you trying to influence public opinion in a negative way?
Why didn't you show a picture of an upper class couple sitting in their high end home enjoying a doobie with their neighbors?
My only caveat is the possibility of driving or working under the influence - liability will be the big issue here. I do not want "Captain Buzz" to welcome me aboard the 737 for a "red eye" flight telling me that we will be getting high today! I'm not denouncing the legalization of pot at all, but there has to be some form of regulation and RESPONSIBLE use! Another plus for the argument would be the lowering demand to the Mexican smugglers and gangs, thus reducing crime and violence. What amazes me is that NORML has been around since the 70's trying to repeal the pot laws, and it has taken almost 50 years for states to begin trending that way - and only because it is now ECONOMICALLY a sound move! On another view, we seem to need more mass sedation to put a lid on all of this senseless violence and shootings which is inundating our country. Good on ya, Pennsylvania, for even considering the proposal - but I won't hold my breath waiting for this necessary change to take effect!— Sound Mind - Let's be the first on the east coast like Jersey was for gambling. Tax the heck out of it. Sell and distribute it through the State Stores to make them viable again. They have a state wide well established network of retain and distribution. We have plenty of fertile farm land and can build secure indoor greenhouses for year round cultivation.
Fire up Pennsylvania!— DarnelX - Answer- YUP.... Tax the hell out of it.— fman727
- of course it should be legalized but that would mean common sense would have to happen.— Rock1
- Thank you for posting how the legalization of marijuana would be extremely beneficial for public health in our state. However, your post also contains several misconceptions that are a product of Drug War propaganda and not true science. It is "debatable" that marijuana is "no more harmful, and less addictive" than nicotine or alcohol only if one wishes to avoid the facts. Alcohol and nicotine (through its delivery system of cigarettes) are responsible for thousands of emergency room visits and fatalities annually, and both nicotine and alcohol are physically addictive and have lethal doses. Marijuana, although it can be habit forming is not physically addictive, and it is impossible to overdose on it. There is NO lethal dose. When speaking of "medical marijuana" and its properties as a therapy for pain, compare this to the opioid derived medications that physicians in this state are forced to prescribe for chronic pain conditions. Oxycodone and other prescription narcotics are the truly addictive and dangerous drugs which are quickly eclipsing motor vehicle crashes as the most deadly form of unintentional death in this country.— eh99
- Yes, didn' we learn anything from the The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act? Use the resources to tackle dangerous drugs like; meth, coke, heroin, designer drugs. etc.,that are killing our kids.— STEPHEN1988
- Keep it illegal but stop putting people in jail for possession. If they can calculate the medical costs associated with pot use, the revenue from fines should equal the cost to society. The revenue should fund the safety, health and other costs. After a few years, they’ll know the average number of fines per year. Total the costs and divide by the average number of fines and adjust annually. They should do the same with tobacco and alcohol.— MikeP
- Originally when I read your post I was upset because you wanted marijuana to remain illegal.. By the end though, I give you credit for atleast being fair. If marijuana is to remain illegal, making tobacco and alcohol illegal is only just. Good comment. — mystikast
- I personally do not care how huch money this would bring in, I care about safety. Currently, there is no way of knowing what ammount of marijuana is in the body without very expensive testing. I do not want to have people, high as kites, driving down the same roads as myself, or worse yet, working next to me. This will dramatically increase car accidents, work related accidents as well as domestic disputes. For all those that are for legalizing it, go get a job and do something productive and stop worrying about getting high! For every dollar that comes in from legalizing it, 2 more dollars will be going out to pay off higher medical insurance costs and car insurance payments that people like myself that are against it will be forced to pay!— PhillyTaz
- Nothing you said is remotely close to accurate or based in fact. Do you work and drive with people who are drunk? Just assuming that people who are for legalization is lazy, and makes you sound like an uneducated tard.
- Agreed with Dixon here and I want to educate PhillyTaz, just becuase it is leagal do not change what people will do with it. As you are driving down the street you probably pass more cars with people who are legally drunk. I personally smoke, but I am very good at my job in a corporate setting and I do not mix the two. I feel like maturity is what you are asking for the most and that is based on the user. I also want to point out that the decriminalizing of weed in Amserdame cause the use of the "drug" to go down by residents and it became more of a tourist thing. This means that without the edge of getting caught it almost makes it not worth doing. — traugdog420
- I have to agree with PhillyTaz here. Drunk driving IS a huge problem, even though it is illegal. We have ways of detecting whether a driver is intoxicated, and there are strict penalties for DUI. If marijuana is made legal, driving while under the influence of marijuana would obviously remain illegal. However, blood and urine tests will detect marijuana days or weeks after use. There is no way to know whether the driver was actually impaired by marijuana at the time of operating the vehicle. I doubt that this is an unsolvable problem - I'm sure that scientists can find a way to develop a "impaired by marijuana" test, but there isn't one yet. I just think it's something that should be considered before lawmakers jump to make legislation that leaves us with no way to enforce driver safety. In the mean time though, we should obviously stop incarcerating people. What a waste of life. — Izzy812
- anyone against legalization in this day and age is a cop, lawyer, judge or someone else worried that legalization will mean less overtime/ billable hours for themselves. There is literally NO valid argument against legalization.— cdw1262
- Legalize marijuana, prostitution and on-line gambling. Take the money and reduce our debt with the Chinese. Most Americans are too stupid to understand it’s a 1 way street with the Chinese, they steal our technology (and proudly admit it), manufacture garbage products, run sweat shops and more so why do we buy from them?— PDJ
- NO. Do not legalize pot yet. My kids are already using and are nearly worthless. If it was legal, I would probably lose my wife to it as well. I don't have a good solution on how to decriminalize it and keep it from getting out of hand. We should have it for medicinal purposes. I still think that the health risks should be studied in depth by an objective body so that we really know the health ramifications before making a decision one way or the other.— truthfirst
- the health tests have been done in the 70s and ignored. it is safer then alcohol, tobacco, & big pharma. i hope your kids read that you think they are worthless and your wife leaves you. truth. — legalize_marijuana
- I have read countless studies regarding weed and their is no proof that shows that weed is a gateway drug or addictive. I smoke it and I am not addicted. plus I have never tried any other drugs. This country has a problem with prescription meds but the government does nothing to try to police it. legalize weed— eisfresh
- True, but there are plenty of studies that show that heavy marijuana use in adolescence is linked to increased chances of developing schizophrenia and altered brain development that results in lower IQ, altered decision making, and increased addictive behaviors (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0376871604002066, http://www.cmaj.ca/content/166/7/887.short, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J069v19n01_01). It's not enough to justify criminalization -- particularly when compared to tobacco and alcohol -- but there should absolutely be age restrictions. — Izzy812
- and do you know the best way to keep marijuana out of the hands of adolescents? LEGALIZE IT AND CHECK ID!!! the corner drug dealer doesn't card, and he also sells heroin!
— legalize_marijuana - economics 101. it is called supply and demand. it should be legalized, taxed just like alcohol. we are in a fiscal crisis and additional revenue from taxation of illicit items like marajuana and prostitution seems logical. I may not agree with either, but its happening anyway. The war on drugs is over.— Keith S.
- also consider all of the savings from no longer having to lockup pot growers, sellers, smokers and not having to pay cops overtime to pursue them. that's alot of green saved just by legalizing the green! — legalize_marijuana
- Yes it should be legal. Free supply to the President and Congress. (But take away his blow) Maybe they will do the reverse of what they have been doing so far, and get it right.— Beethoven987
- Yes, it clearly should be legalized. I think it's disugsting, but people arent't hurting anybody else, so if they choose to do it, it's none of my business. It's just a shame that Leach is a statist on almost every other issue.— The Edifier
- Lower the gas tax, by legalizing pot and taxing it. We can drink, we can smoke we can gamble...how is pot any different?— LGbalsac
- It's worth noting that the couple comments against legalization all cite issues that are related to it's current use, not really about legalization. Sure, like any substance pot can cause issues, but if those issues are legit concerns, they are already a problem and not addressed by criminalization. If anything, legalization AND regulization would give the government more ability to positively affect its use.
I can tell you a million situations when alcohol can be bad for certain people, but I bet it's misused less as a regulated, taxed and legal substance than it was under prohibition.— chris commentary - Well the thing to remember here is that..uh...dude, what was I talking about?— Murrayman
- Legalize it, tax it.— 1972bline
- Marijuana is already a controlled substance, therefore users are showing they have no respect for the law and no respect for themselves. We should not be rewarding bad behavaoir. Prosecute and fine.— Bruiser
- Peanuts kill more people a year then pot does!!!!!— cuso20
- For the love of god stop spending Billion$ locking people up for using Marijuana. For the cost of using prisons to curb the public use of Marijuana since 1979 Pennsylvania could have lowered their tax rates across the board.
— Dexter - Booze is legal. Give people who can't drink an alternative-- the diabetics, the people with alcohol allergies, people with liver and kidney problems, etc. Re: smoke, there are many alternatives to smoking marijuana, alternatives that would also produce small businesses and jobs. Let's just stop pretending to guard the morals of the citizens-- we are already rife with booze, prescription pills that dope people, etc. etc. etc. and no one does anything about any of it. It's just so droll.— xkarivalis
- Marijuana is far safer than alcohol and tobacco, yet it remains illegal and its users treated like criminals. C'mon people, wake up!— mystikast
- By reading the comments here, the people have spoken. Quite clearly.— TheLowDown
- Adults should be treated like adults. We need to stop protecting people from themselves and prosecute people who violate the rights of others.— amblereagles
- For all those that advocate legalislation, how would you answer these two questions ?
Would you want your doctor performing life and death surgery on you if you knew he had been smoking weed the night before ?
Would you want school teachers in the classroom with your children if you knew they had been using marijuana the night before or possibly that morning before school ?— candidly - "Would you want your doctor performing life and death surgery on you if you knew he had been drinking alcohol the night before ?
Would you want school teachers in the classroom with your children if you knew they had been using alcohol the night before or possibly that morning before school?" The same argument applies.
Obviously, no one wants their doctor's, pilots, or school teachers smoking weed WHILE they preform their job. But what they do in their free time, off of work, as long as it doesn't affect their job preformance, is none of your concern. Legalize marijuana doesn't make it OK to smoke marijuana while driving or preforming surgery, just like you can't drink or drive, or take a few shots of vodka before you preform open heart surgery.
How are some people so ignorant as to not understand this? Legalizing marijuana doesn't mean you can do it anytime, anywhere! Same things such as alcohol would apply... you have to use your head and THINK sometimes. It helps!— mystikast - Mysticast, I *almost* completely agree with you. But the problem is that if a pilot or a doctor or a teacher shows up to work and someone suspects them of being drunk, you can very easily do a blood test, confirm that they're intoxicated, and send them home and fire them/revoke their license. It doesn't happen all the time, but there are a few crappy people out there, and the ability to enforce rules that prohibit working while intoxicated is important. There's currently no way to do a blood test and confirm that someone has enough marijuana in their system to be impaired. They might have smoked last week and would still have a positive blood test. We don't know what blood levels correspond with impairment. It would just be helpful to have the ability to do something about *if* some crazy pilot and his entire crew ever showed up to fly an airplane high. (http://www.gadling.com/2010/03/11/cops-arrest-entire-drunk-crew-from-ukraine-airline/) — Izzy812
- Actually, blood tests have a pretty small window during which a user will test positive. And unlike urine exams, blood tests actually pick up on the active levels of THC in a user's system. Although you're right that it's still very difficult to know exactly what levels correspond to impairment, by virtue of knowing the level of THC in the user's system it is much easier to know when the cannabis was ingested and eliminate any possibility of a 'second hand smoke' positive that is possible, though unlikely, with urinalysis. — PRphillyphan17
- Decades of time and billions of dollars have not been able to put a dent in the so called "War on Drugs" [really a war on the poorest Americans as well as being a racially motivated form of population control.] It's time to end the farce. Americans, including fine upstanding Pennsylvania citizens WANT it. It's a commodity - TAX it and let the public have what they want. Stop making criminals of our fellow citizens. Legalize marijuana NOW! Start filling the State's empty coffers with legitimate tax dollars. Put the cartels out of business. They won't be able to compete with a legal product.— bad joe s
- What are we going to do with all the Pot dealers who are suddenly out of a job? How many will just up and quit and supplemental the income some other, legal way? Some people make good money selling Pot and when you take that away- Well, I don't know what will happen but we need to be ready for it.
— timprov - I find a suggestion/pro argument a little weird
would be fair or unfair if the STATE expense of 325 million, once ended
translated into a CITY benefit of 200 million?
— MDBJ - Let's use some common sense (not so common) and declare victory in the war on drugs and legalize pot for recreational and medicinal use. Take away the attraction (and associated crime) of using an illegal substance, regulate it and tax it just like alcohol and call it a day. This from a non-pot user.— skippack_cyclist
Be careful what you wish for...DO NOT legalize marijuana - please. Just decriminalize it. If the political class legalizes it, expect HUGE taxes that will double the cost. Expect massive, costly regulations. Expect hassles every where you turn. Expect Big Brother surveilance of users...in short, expect the worst once John Law gets involved, and then multiply the worst by ten.— The Monk- People who use heroin, crack, and cocaine did not get up one day and say, perhaps I'll try crack today with no prior drug use history. What I am trying to say is that marijuana seems to be the number 1 gateway drug. Making the gate wider and more accessible seems to be irresponsible on some levels. Perhaps there are many out there who use the drug recreationally without detriment to themselves or others, but I would imagine they are in the minority. Let me get this straight, Mr. Leach is against vouchers and or tax credits for parents of students trapped in violenet and or under-performing schools, but he is for the legalization of a drug most widely known for producing laziness...wow! You cannot create this stuff!— reasonableihope
- Pot is bad for your lungs? LMGTFY:
CBS NEWS "Marijuana might not harm lungs, but experts leery of other effects" - http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57356867-10391704/marijuana-might-not-harm-lungs-but-experts-leery-of-other-effects/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/01/13/is-pot-good-for-lungs-new-marijuana-study-adds-to-health-effects-debate.html
I can haz real reporting?
— alexua 
NON ADDICTIVE!- my dad recently died from cancer in dec. due to the loss of appetite from the therapy he endured we couldn't afford the $700plus Rx for Megace ES prescribed to boost his appetite. the alternative, regular Megace, was too much as well. so you know my heart went out that we didn't live in a state where if we had even medical marijuana we could've tried that as perhaps a reduced cost alternative. instead i had to watch my dad waste away because we couldn't afford the cost of overpriced chemically made pharmaceuticals that the insurance companies don't cover and make big pharma richer.— ihatenewyorkers
As a pot smoker, I was against the legalization of marijuanna. I get my weed just fine, I don't need the government stepping in and now taxing yet another thing in my life. The thing that swayed me though was the unused retail space that will be occupied by dispensaries and the revenue that it will generate. Our country could use the economic jolt as we have been stuck in neutral for quite sometime. For the economies sake, legalize it.— gilligan- ...Not to mention it will take revenue away from Mexican drug cartels. — Izzy812
- Way to go, little buddy! — CoettaGarner25
- Sure! We have drunks on the roads. People who fly through red lights and ignore stop signs are plentiful. Let's get some idiots high and get them on the road.— tlee
- MAKE IT LEGAL create jobs and like another person said tax the hell out of it. Let's go america use what we can, create and grow and keep jobs in this country.— twentysecs
- Isn't Obama's criteria "if we save one life we should try"? Well having a bunch of potheads walking and driving around could cost lives so using that criteria I say no.— Phillies2008WSChamps
- Weed, Killer, Bhudda, Hydro, Chronic, Ganja, Skunk, Backyard Boogie, Mary Jane, Endo.....— MrBigDizzle
- I think this is a great idea.It will generate tax revenue and it will save big municipalities like ours in administrative costs courts arrests etc.People that are against this are morons.It will knock the black market and local dealer out of business.When was the last time you have heard someone smoking a joint then killing someone.?The only thing they will kill are the munchies haaha.— cityslicker
- Legalize ALL drugs. Time to thin the herd.— Barbouze
- A few of yous have seen Reefer Madness too many times.
You ever seen two guys smoking weed get into a fist fight like in the bars?
Get a clue.— drenner - Absolutlely, Positively...there is no reason not to......and they also should legalizw sports gambling and prostituion.....for real....legalize and tax.....the state gets the money, instead of the mob and the bookies and both industries are cleaned up.....it is just common sense.....as NO attemt to end either has ever been successful...— nuggett
- I don't see pigs flying. So no, USA will NEVER legalize pot because we are too convervative in our policies.— penncrow19
- If you inhale it through a vaporizer, it severely reduces the toxins generated in burning the plant but still gives the same high, or so I'm told.— CoettaGarner25
- "Take away the attraction (and associated crime) of using an illegal substance, regulate it and tax it just like alcohol and call it a day."
I do not think that the illegality of the drug is the draw. It is the cool factor or desire to either fit in or do something bad. If it becomes legal, that does not mean that parents want their teenagers doing it. Of course the law will clearly state that you must be 21 just like with alcohol. YEA RIGHT! How's that working for us as a society? Underage drinking is rampant though alcohol is a legal substance. Pot is rampant though illegal. What does legalization of pot do for this equation? Employers will begin to test more employees for drug use and legalization will ruin lives of decent people who use a legal substance. I'd bet that we spend almost as much in court fees fighting overin the first five years as we spend fighting the trafficking now.— truthfirst - Pot promoters always ignore the basic, fundamental moral questions. It is utterly wrong to alter your consciousness through drugs, to disrespect and perhaps destroy your brain cells, to go through life stoned and addicted. It is even more wrong to encourage others to do so. It is bad enough we are stuck with alcohol, and there is no excuse for adding yet another drug. It should be criminal, it is reprehensible, period. It is addicting. It is false experience. I am not convinced it is medically necessary, either. But if so, then carefully regulated and administered. But you know people will cram their way into doctor's offices and do whatever they can to get prescriptions, so it is pointless as long as people persist in such degenerate behavior. What we need is unified, complete opposition and leadership from government, parents, society, religion. In other words, continue Prohibition. The Prohibition on alcohol did not necessarily fail. We need to re-examine that. It is not compassionate to allow people to become drug addicts. It has to be fought, most of all, in Hollywood and popular culture, to remove the "cool" association completely, or the coolness of "cool." When I was in high school, back in the 70s, all the potheads got held back one or two years before they could do the work to graduate. And those who use are most likely to deal.— Zindorf
- Let me see. Something you could tax the hell out of and absolutely no one will give a sh*t. Sounds like a no-brainer to me. Even you people who think us stoners are morons can see that. Oh yeah. I make close to a 6 figure income and I smoke pot every day.— SafetyPro420
- Yes legal. It is no different than alcohol. In fact, it is safer on many levels.
Allow adults over 21 to possess 1oz or less and smoke in privacy of homes.
You can also ingest and use vaporizers instead of smoking which is healthier.— Four4Four
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